Biotechnology major Biocon Ltd has reported nine per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 103 crore for the quarter ended June 30.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 94 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

The total revenue of the company rose to Rs 742 crore for the first quarter, against Rs 723 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, Biocon Ltd said in a statement.

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“Our revenue growth this quarter has been muted. Our business performance reflects the challenges that we are temporarily facing in some of our key markets, especially in the Middle East.

“We are working towards diversifying our regional dependencies to diminish the impact of such externalities,” Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.

However, the company has sustained operating margins and profits despite an increase in costs, she added.

“Our business profitability has remained intact indicating the benefits of portfolio optimisation. Our development pipeline across biosimilars and novel candidates continues to progress well. We remain committed towards improving our performance in the coming quarters,” Mazumdar-Shaw said.

During the quarter, the Bangalore-based firm filed its first abbreviated new drug application (ANDA), targeting the US generics market.

“This effort is part of our communicated strategy to move up the pharma value chain to enter finished dosages with generic formulations,” the company said.

The company also announced the appointment of Siddharth Mittal as Chief Financial Officer with effect from August 1.

On future outlook, the company said: “The inherent growth drivers for our business remain intact and will play out over the course of this year. The progress in our development pipeline (across biosimilars and novel molecules) will help some of our molecules to enter the clinic.”